NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



401 



m'ght be supposed, in fact, they are not trying very 

 hard to compete with us in that way. They are 

 simply laughing at the ' inferior quality ' of Amer- 

 ican apples, and are turning their attention to the 

 production of apples of the highest quality, so they 

 can have the cream of the market, and they get a 

 price for their product such as we have never 

 dreamed of in America. A half dozen apples of first 

 quality attractively put up in a small basket sell 

 for as much in London or Berlin as a whole barrel- 

 ful of fine apples in America. 



" It should be borne in mind that in America we 

 have a great middle class of comparatively well to 

 do people, including millions of the more intelligent 

 laborers, who consume the greater part of our apple 

 product. It is a source of gratification that we 

 have such a middle class and that we can supply 

 enough apples to bring them easily within their 

 reach. In Europe they have practically no such 

 middle class ; generally speaking, the people are 

 rich, aristocratic and luxurious or very poor. The 

 former class do not want to eat cheap apples ; the 

 latter cannot aiford to. There is far greater de- 

 mand for moderate priced apples in America than 

 there is in Europe. 



"It seems to me the future of our European 

 apple market depends upon our supplying only a 

 first-class article. Let us keep all our moderate 

 priced stuff at home. The European grower is 

 turning his attention to varieties of the highest 

 quality, regardless of productivity. It is more 

 profitable here to grow a smaller quantity of apples 

 of high price than a larger quantity of low price." 



FRAUDS OF SPECULATORS. 



IT is not at all fair that the blame for bad 

 packing- of Ontario fruit should be laid 

 at the door of the fruit grower, when the 

 fraud is the work of the speculator who 

 buys his orchard in a lump for so much and 

 packs to make as much as possible. Nearly 

 all the fraudulently packed barrels of apples, 

 which have led to the passing of the Fruit 

 Marks Act, were done by shippers, and not 

 by the growers, who unfortunately for them- 

 selves have hesitated to undertake the 

 packing of their own fruit. Here for 

 example is a note in the Mail and Empire, 

 of Toronto, along this line, headed : 



FANCY FRUIT TRADE. 

 "The Dominion Fruit [nspector at Win- 

 nipeg has sent to the Department a box of 

 apples taken from the middle of a consign- 

 ment shipped to Winnipeg by a firm in Gait, 

 Ont. The apples were described by the 

 shipper as "fancy" Canadian apples The 

 specimens sent to the department are very 



poor quality, indeed. Twenty of them 

 weigh only 28 ounces. Twenty hen's eggs 

 of good average size would weigh 40 ounces. 

 It is considered too bad that Ontario fruit is 

 being shipped to the excellent markets of 

 .Manitoba and the North-west Territories 

 in this dishonest manner. It is killing the 

 trade out, and playing directly into the 

 hands of the fruit growers and shippers from 

 California. The inspector has been instruct- 

 ed to prosecute the shipper in this instance 

 and every similar instance which comes 

 under his notice." 



• Now this kind of thing would never occur 

 if we could educate the grower to pack his 

 own fruit, and encourage a few of these 

 men at every shipping point to combine in 

 shipping car lots to proper consignees, for 



HOW TO PACK. 



FOR a fancy trade in No. i apples, the 

 box is the best package. We take 

 out this grade, and the No. 2 goes in the 

 barrel, and is marked accordingly. X, our 

 lowest grade, is No. i apples, 2}^ inches in 

 diameter, XX is 2^ inches, XXX is 2^, 

 fruit larger than that we call Extra, as 

 indicated last month. 



We place a thin layer of excelsior first 

 against the bottom, then row in the apples, 

 four wide, four deep and eight long, with 

 padding of excelsior between every layer, in 

 boxes 10^/^x11^x22 inches. These boxes 

 are most convenient for consumers, who 

 seldom want a whole barrel because it is too 

 clumsy for the kitchen or the pantry, while 

 a box of apples is just in place, especially if 

 it be a high grade article. Another note, 

 in the above mentioned Journal, fits in just 

 here about ; and we quote it because it is 

 exactly in line with our views. . 



HIGH GRADE PRODUCTS. 



" A profitable lesson can be learned from 

 a visit to one of the large fruit markets of 

 the city, or even by a casual inspection of 



